


Doorway to My Soul

by PhoenixSyndrome



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Alphyne, Alphynecentric, F/F, Human AU, Yellow and Green, humantale
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-17
Updated: 2016-07-08
Packaged: 2018-07-15 16:18:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 12,219
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7229695
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PhoenixSyndrome/pseuds/PhoenixSyndrome
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Alphys and Undyne are roommates, and quite infatuated with each other. After a night of drinking and anime, Alphys can't seem to hold her tongue, and gets herself into a mess she might not be opposed to being in.</p><p>This fic gave me cavities just writing it. Fluff galore.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Summer Night Hangouts

Friday nights during the summer were a strange kind of special, when the nights were hot, but not unbearable. The perfect kind of night to hang out with a friend and watch old TV shows in total silence. It was comfortable, and in these moments it was easy to fall into idle, often times fantastical thoughts. Thoughts of situations and possibilities so amazing and good one thought would never come true.

In apartment B13, it was one of those times. The living room was small, and only dimly lit by the lamp sitting beside the unoccupied futon couch, as well as by an 11 inch flat screen lit up with an anime show. The ceiling fan spun slowly, not doing much in terms of cooling the room down.

Two women sat together on the floor, backs against the empty couch behind them. On the left was Alphys, a short, soft and round woman, pale skinned and round of face. Her hair, usually kept up in a tight hairclip during the day, flowed freely at her shoulders. Her messy bangs hung over her eyes, hiding the fact that Alphys wasn’t looking at the television, but at the tall woman sitting next to her.

For hours now, they’d been watching anime together, but if she was asked, Alphys wouldn’t be able to tell you anything about it. She regretted to say that for all this time, since she got home from her classes, she hadn’t been paying attention to anything at all. Except for the tall, red-headed woman next to her. Thin, but amazingly toned, and angular of face, with light brown skin and darker brown freckles dotting her face. Her marvelous red hair reached down to her mid back, and her bangs covered the left side of her face, concealing a long scar over a blind eye. That was Undyne. Amazing, confident, passionate, and drop dead _gorgeous_ Undyne.

It was strange. Alphys didn’t know what had gotten into her tonight, but Undyne was on her mind since before she got home. Before Undyne came home from her job at the bar, before they sat down together and popped in the anime. Before they even started drinking around ten pm. While it wasn’t uncommon for Alphys to be thinking about Undyne and how absurdly amazing she is, this was a tad ridiculous.

Alphys liked Undyne. _Really_ liked her. Alphys could admit that to herself just fine. How could anyone not crush on her? Undyne was just too special. It could have been the alcohol making her thoughts a bit more bold than normal, but Alphys just wanted to grab Undyne’s gorgeous face and—

“Hey, Alphys,” Undyne waved a hand beckoningly, “pass that popcorn over here, willya?”

It took a few moments to even register Undyne had spoken. Alphys flinched and glanced down at her hand, wrist deep in the bowl of popcorn and chocolate sauce sitting in her lap. “Oh, uh, s-sure, Undyne. Sorry.” She slid the bowl over to Undyne and, with a beaming smile, Undyne grabbed a handful.

Sometimes, Alphys wondered how it came to be this way; how Undyne came to be her housemate. She knew _why._ In Undyne’s words, Alphys was working herself into an early grave trying to keep a job while also attending eight classes a week at the college. Although that thought was clear in Alphys’s mind, she didn’t know why Undyne would do it. Why she would move in and take on the burden of paying for nearly everything.

Alphys leaned back against the couch. Maybe it was just the alcohol, but she felt absurdly self-pitiful tonight. More so than usual. She didn’t deserve to be under the same roof as someone as Undyne, let alone feel all of these weird feelings for her. What was she doing, even thinking about Undyne in such a domestic context.

A sudden explosion on-screen tore Alphys’s attention away from Undyne for a moment and back onto the anime. Wait, how much had she missed? Who was the white-haired guy? When did the giant frog show up? “Hey, do you want another beer?”

“Uh! S-sure, Undyne.”

Undyne hopped up and walked over to the fridge. Alphys watched, not so subtly, as Undyne leaned down to reach into the fridge. Undyne was dressed in just a tank top and some ocean themed boxers that Alphys had jokingly bought for her when Undyne first moved in. The tank top slid up on Undyne’s back, exposing some of her dark skin. Alphys couldn’t help but imagine one day being able to slide her fingers across that warm flesh and…

Okay. Maybe the alcohol was doing more than just pumping up her hopeless romanticisms. When Undyne sat back down and handed over the beer, Alphys tried to focus on the anime. Unfortunately, the effort was moot. Undyne was sitting a lot closer to Alphys now, and she could feel Undyne’s muscly thigh pressing against her own. How Alphys managed to go a full two years living with Undyne without dying of sheer lovesickness was beyond her.

For another full episode, Alphys nursed the beer and tried not to get too lost in her own thoughts. If not that, then she just tried keep them to herself. Her tipsy, self-indulgent thoughts of herself and Undyne, leaning in together. Lips meeting for an awesome first kiss as the anime theme song swells passionately in the background.

“Oh my _fucking_ god!!” Undyne threw her hands up in the air. Alphys flinched, blinking and slightly slack-jawed at Undyne’s outburst. Undyne was loud by herself, but got louder after a few hours of drinking, if one could believe it. “Can you believe these two!?”

“W-what, who? Who do you mean?”

Undyne waved her hand at the television, “Those guys!! God, I’m so sick of this ‘will they, won’t they’ garbage. I hate it when TV shows do that. It’s like they’re deliberately teasing us. Like, holy shit, just say you like the guy!”

About now would be when Alphys would wish she’d been paying attention. After all, it’d been close to three hours now since they started this anime marathon. One would think the least Alphys could do was divide her attention a little bit. However, all she could think about now was how it’d be like just to kiss Undyne. To bury her hands in that glorious red hair, and feel those strong arms holding her close. Alphys tried to shake her head of the thought.

Undyne continued on, “For fuck’s sake, just look at them!! Am I wrong, Alphys?!”

“Y-yeah! I mean, uh, no! I-I m-mean, um,” Alphys swallowed. _Now_ she wished she’d been paying attention. She giggled nervously, and then after that the giggles wouldn’t stop. _Stop laughing, oh my god, it isn’t funny! Stop it!!_ “I have no idea what’s happening, a-actually.” Good job, Alphys. They’d been sitting here for three hours in front of an anime Alphys had told Undyne she’d been dying to watch, and she hadn’t retained a single minute of it. Still, she laughed, and she wished she could stop, but fortunately Undyne began to laugh with her.

“That’s fine, Alphy,” Undyne lightly punched Alphys on the arm. It still hurt, a little. “Just means that we can watch it some other time. And hey, I actually know more about an anime for once!” Undyne chuckled, and again, Alphys laughed with her.

When the laughter died down, Alphys looked at Undyne, who was giving her a toothy grin. Her teeth were goofy and crooked, but her smile was so fantastic regardless. It made Alphys’s heart beast so hard it felt like it might leap out of her chest. It was then that she was doomed. Undyne’s beaming smile, that gorgeous green eye, it spread a warmth through Alphys’s body that, when mingled with all of the alcohol she’d ingested, made it impossible to resist. It all just came rushing out before Alphys could stop it.

“We should date.”

A huge lump formed in Alphys’s throat the moment she said it. _Did I really say that? To Undyne? Oh my god, someone please kill me. Undyne wouldn’t want to date me. She’s too awesome. She can find some cool bodybuilder chick or a badass biker girl, and then there’s those girls she works with…_

To Alphys’s dismay, the smile fades quickly from Undyne’s face. “Wha—what? What did you just say?”

It definitely had to be the alcohol, because instead of backpedaling, Alphys continued, “I-I want to go out on a date with you.” The silence that stretched between them had anxiety swelling inside of Alphys’s chest. _Oh god_ , she thought, _I said a bad thing. She thinks I’m gross, and now she doesn’t want to see me again. Oh god, how did I mess it up?! I shouldn’t have said anything, oh god, I should_ not _have—_

“Uuuh, y-yeah!!” A huge, dopey smile broke out across Undyne’s face, and she laughed. Immediately, Alphys was put at great ease, but somehow felt confused. “Yeah, of course! I’d love to.”

“Oh! G-great…” Alphys felt her face flush, and she looked down at her feet. That went better than any time she ever imagined it in her head. She hadn’t ever considered Undyne would say yes. She giggled, and kept giggling for a little while. Then, it got quiet. Alphys took a moment to look up at Undyne, and saw that Undyne was staring and smiling warmly at her. Anxiety pierced her like a hot knife, and more words spilled out before she could stop them, “Uh, w-w-what time is it!?”

There was a brief pause as Undyne checked the clock, “It’s, uh, a little past one.”

Alphys sprang up, sending the bowl of popcorn and chocolate flying. “Oh! It-s that late already? I-I—uh, I should go to bed!!”

There was a look of buzzed confusion on Undyne’s face, “Oh. Okay. Uh, goodnight.”

“Goodnight!!” Alphys laughed almost hysterically as she practically fled down the hallway and into her bedroom. Once the door was safely shut behind her, Alphys breathed a long, deep sigh and went over to her bed. After she stripped off her sweater and jeans, which she neglected to change out of when she first came home, Alphys flopped onto her mattress.

With her face comfortably buried into her fluffy, yellow pillow, Alphys couldn't help but think. She just asked Undyne out. Short, squat and pasty Alphys had asked Undyne out, and Undyne said yes. Was this something Alphys really wanted to blame on the alcohol too?

Alphys pulled the covers over herself. Vaguely, as her eyes grew heavier, she remembered the mess she’d left for Undyne, including the popcorn she’d knocked over. The thoughts began to quickly fall away, though, as she succumbed to sleep.

No more thinking tonight. She’d have to deal with it in the morning.


	2. Hung Up and Over

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alphys needs some help. Fortunately, Mettaton will be there for her.

_Pounding_.

When Alphys woke, there was an unbearable pounding inside her head. Why, _why_ did it hurt so much? Her eyes were closed, she knew that, but all she could see was bright pink. It was painful, and shut her eyes as she might, the light wouldn’t go away. Were her eyes even shut? She thought they were. _Augh No capacity for thinking. No capacity to get up…_

Alphys slowly turned over to face the wall, and— _thank God!_ —the bright pink faded into a calm dark. She put a pillow over her face and tried to ignore the sharp and painful throbbing in her head. She really shouldn’t drink. The hangovers were murder.

What had she even done last night? She vaguely remembered anime, and sitting with Undyne, but that was nothing new at all. They always watched anime together, especially at the end of the week. Hell, they did that before Undyne moved in. There was something in the back of her mind, though, that was different from the routine. Drinking wasn’t part of the routine, sure, but it wasn’t new either. It was something else…

_Aaaaaaaauuugh…_ Alphys felt too awful for this much thinking. Why was it that her mind always overthought when her head couldn’t physically handle it? It was almost as if her own brain hated her. She made a mental note to think about it later when she felt better and _OH MY SHIT I ASKED UNDYNE ON A DATE OH NO_

Too quickly, Alphys sat up and her mind immediately blanked, and the world spun. She fell back on her pillow and tried to suppress the sudden, increasing flow of nausea. This was going to be a bit difficult. Hopefully, this meant Undyne was hungover as well, and wouldn’t remember anything Alphys had said last night.

Once the nausea died away, Alphys decided maybe it was time to move again. Slowly, her stomach churning with every movement, Alphys tried to slide out of bed. Unfortunately, she only managed to get her legs onto the floor; she was now on her knees with her entire top half partially buried in her bedsheets and mattress.

Her knees felt weak as Alphys tried to stand. She noticed, then, how everything looked blurry. Alphys blinked several times, but her vision never cleared. Hangovers were the worst.

For longer than she probably should have, Alphys stood there and watched her bed. Eventually, she noticed a blurry but definitely bright beam of sunlight laying directly over where Alphys’s pillow would be, where her head once was.

_Millions of miles away, and accurate as fuck. Of course._

Carefully, Alphys practically baby-stepped over to her door and pulled it open. Music, loud and thumping, flooded into her bedroom. Great. Undyne was awake and clearly not as hungover as Alphys. It definitely wasn’t fair that Undyne was so lanky and yet could handle alcohol so much better.

Alphys stumbled into the hallway, and collided into the wall that she was sure was further away just a second ago. The music turned down considerably. “Hey, Alphys.”

“G’morning, N’dyne,” Alphys grumbled as she dragged herself against the wall. Everything was still blurry. Nausea still pooled in the pit of her belly, but she knew her stomach was empty. Alphys hoped it was, at least. She didn’t remember eating any of the popcorn at all last night.

A few moments later, Alphys reached the end of the hallway. Now out of wall to support herself on, she realized she had to walk on her own to Undyne’s futon. With a deep breath, Alphys pushed over, and immediately teetered and fell.

“Alphys!!” Instead of landing on the hardwood floor as expected, Alphys instead landed on something firm, but just a bit softer than the floor. Alphys tried to push herself up, but her equilibrium was too muddled for that. She tried to look up, and noticed that her face was buried in Undyne’s braless but thankfully covered cleavage. Alphys tried to pull away, but as stated before, she couldn’t. “Maybe you shouldn’t drink, Alphys. You can’t handle the hangovers. Come on, let’s get you to the couch.”

Alphys’s arm was slung over Undyne’s shoulder, and she felt Undyne’s arm slide comfortably and securely around her back. Unfortunately, Alphys was too out of it to even enjoy the closeness between them. Once deposited on the futon, now a couch for the day, Undyne commanded her to stay and left. Before she could think of where Undyne went to, she felt Undyne gently place something into her hand.

“You forgot your glasses, you dork.” She saw Undyne’s blurry form walk past her and into the kitchen area, separated from the living room only by a long counter. Alphys slid her glasses on, fumbling just a bit, and her vision cleared up considerably. Still a bit blurry, but definitely an improvement. Undyne came back a few seconds later, with a tall glass of ice water and a couple of painkillers. “Take this, and drink all of the water.”

Not in the mood to argue, Alphys simply complied. After taking the medicine, she chugged the water until it was mostly just ice. She laid back, just to close her eyes for a few seconds, and before she knew it Undyne was nudging her shoulder.

“Hey, I made something for you.”

The smell of pepper and instant noodles filled her nose, and Alphys sat up immediately. A TV table had been set up in front of her, and a bowl of fresh instant noodles, covered in pepper, sat in front of her. Alphys could cry. “Ooooh! You’re the best, Undyne!!” Alphys immediately began stuffing the noodles in her mouth. The taste was amazing. Instant noodles were a godsend.

Undyne sat quietly next to her as Alphys ate. She noticed when she was nearly done with the bowl, eager to drink the broth. It was making her nervous; Undyne was usually never this quiet. What was she thinking about? A small pit of fear began to dig through Alphys’s stomach at the thought that Undyne was thinking about the date proposal from last night. Alphys hoped it wasn’t about that, but she knew it was. She hoped in vain that Undyne was just being courteous and not talking because of Alphys’s hangover.

When the noodles and broth were gone, and the rest of the ice water drank—Undyne made sure every last drop was gone of course—Alphys fell back against the couch again. She tried to relax and let the pain of the hangover slowly ebb away. For a long time, it was quiet. Alphys couldn’t tell how long, but when she sat up again, her hangover was significantly less painful.

Eventually, as Alphys became more aware and her vision cleared up a little more, she heard Undyne chuckling? “W-what?” Alphys asked, nervous, but she couldn’t help but smile. “Why are you laughing?”

“It’s nothing, just…” Undyne sighed, a smile still on her lips, “Just, uh, last night. It’s kind of silly.” Alphys froze. Immediately, a million and one emotions started coursing through her. On one hand, Alphys _really_ wanted Undyne to say yes to the date, but on the other, she didn’t want Undyne to feel obligated to. Not only that, Undyne had just said it was silly and… “Did you mean it, Alphys? Do you want to go out with me?”

Alphys looked over at Undyne. She was looking away from Alphys, down at the floor which still had a few chocolate smears from the popcorn last night. Alphys couldn’t place what Undyne’s expression conveyed, even in her more coherent and thoughtful state. “Uh, I ah, um…”

“I know we were drinking,” Undyne continued quickly, “and it’s all a bit fuzzy for you. I don’t want you to feel like you have to go on a date with me. I-I just wanted to know.”

Alphys couldn’t believe it. Did this mean Undyne wanted to date her? She felt a flutter of hope in her chest, but it didn’t last long. She was staring at Undyne’s face, trying hard to figure it out. Undyne looked—nervous? Scared? Alphys couldn’t tell. “U-Undyne…”

Suddenly, Undyne interjected before Alphys could say anything, “That’s okay, Alphys. You don’t have to say yes. I was just wondering if—”

“ _No_!!” Alphys cried. Undyne fell silent, clearly surprised at the outburst. They stared for a few seconds at each other, and Alphys finally was able to pin Undyne’s expression. _Vulnerable._ Alphys didn’t know how she came to that conclusion, but when her gaze met Undyne’s, she just knew. Finally, Alphys realized that she should probably start saying something else, but now she didn’t know what she should say. She struggled to say something, anything, until— “ _Please_ go out with me, Undyne!”

Undyne just sat there, stunned silent. After a few long moments without a response, Alphys became worried. Had she read Undyne wrong? Did she misunderstand what Undyne was trying to say? Suddenly, Alphys felt like she couldn’t breathe. Thankfully, Undyne began to speak again, “Alphys,” she said, a happy chuckle bubbling in her voice, “Of course I’ll go out with you! I-if that’s what you really want.”

“It is…” Alphys felt herself smiling hugely. The balloon of anxiety in her chest began to deflate.

“Cool.” Undyne smiled back at her, appearing to calm down as well. “How does, uh, tonight sound? Well, I guess you’re probably not feeling the best after last night…”

“A-actually! I think that sounds great!” Alphys quickly said. She was afraid she’d chicken out if she had too much time to think about it, and she didn’t want this chance to slip away. “Uh, h-how does seven sound? Tonight?”

“I think that sounds awesome.” Undyne’s smile widened, and Alphys shuddered beneath her warm gaze. There was some kind of glimmer behind Undyne’s sparkling green eye, and that sweet smile was still on her dark lips as their gazes remained locked. Maybe, if the date went well, Alphys would get to kiss her… “Uh, well,” Undyne broke the gaze and clapped her hands against her knees. “I-I think I should get outta here, and give you some space to get ready.”

Alphys frowned in confusion, “So soon?” She glanced over at the clock on the wall, “But it’s only— _two-thirty?!_ ” She laughed nervously, “O-oh, uh, all right. I should get ready then!!”

“All right! I’m gonna head down to Papyrus’s.” Undyne hopped up quickly. “S-so you can have some privacy. Yeah. I’ll be back to pick you up in a few hours!!” Undyne waved her fingers and backed up toward the door. Weakly, Alphys waved back, and Undyne flashed a sheepish smile before she backed out of the door and and slammed it shut behind her. Alphys was too shocked by what just happened to tell Undyne she was still in her pajamas.

For a few minutes after, Alphys sat in disbelief. She was almost convinced that she was having some sort of alcohol-influenced lucid dream. Any moment now, she thought she’d wake up with an even worse hangover than she ever dreamed of. If that did end up happening, well, that’d only make sense for Alphys’s luck.

When finally she decided it wasn’t a dream and, in fact, she was going on a date with her major, _major_ crush, Alphys set into action. First things first: a shower. She was sure she smelled rank.

Alphys practically glided over to the bathroom. The shower blasted out hot, steaming water and Alphys lathered up. Usually, she never sang in the shower, but at that moment she could have been lead vocalist in a choir. As the near scalding water washed over her pale skin, Alphys belted out the jaunty lyrics to one of her favorite animes. She couldn’t remember being so happy than right at this moment.

She was washing her hair, still humming her favorite theme, when the shower curtain was pulled back with great force. Alphys leaped back with a shriek, and her back hit the wall. Without her glasses she couldn’t see who was in the bathroom with her. The figure was blurry, but she could see their deep brown skin, and their wide, curvy hips and shoulders, and they were— “M-M- _Mettaton_? Is that you!?”

“Ooooh yes! You can stop screaming, darling. I’m right in front of you.” His voice was boisterous, but calm for the situation. As if he hadn’t just broken into her apartment and invaded her privacy.

“H-h-how did you get in my apartment!?” Alphys grabbed the shower curtain and pulled it to her front. The shampoo still in her hair started to seep down onto her face, and she wiped it away hurriedly. “W-when did you get here?!”

Mettaton laughed, “I was down visiting Papyrus when Undyne came over. That poor girl was just in a pair of boxers and a stained tank top, but Pappy has that covered! I’m here to help you!”

“H-help me? I-I-I can wash myself, Mettaton!!” Alphys pulled the shower curtain closer. She wasn’t looking forward to whatever Mettaton had planned, she could already tell.

“Stop shouting, Alphys, I’m right here!” Mettaton sighed overdramatically, as if Alphys being upset over this invasion of privacy was an overreaction.

Before Alphys could tell him to leave, Mettaton pulled a long, black piece of cloth from behind his back. It was difficult to see without her glasses, but she thought she could see polka dots along the otherwise solid black. “Mettaton, what is that?”

“Your new dress! It was supposed to be for your birthday, but this is a special occasion!! Oooooooh, my little Alphy is taking her big crush on a date! I’m so proud of you, darling!!”

“Mettaton, p-please get out!!”

“Fine, fine. I’ll leave the dress on the counter. I’ll be waiting whenever you’re ready!!” he sang as he sauntered out of the bathroom. Alphys leaned out of the shower to quickly shut the door behind him. “Don’t you worry, honey! When I’m done, you’ll be fit to court a queen!”

Alphys sighed. She loved that boy to death, but she feared he might give her a heart attack one day.

 

When Alphys finished washing and toweled off, she slid the dress, indeed black with white polka dots, over herself. With her glasses back on, she was able to see how it looked on her. The dress was gorgeous, but she didn’t think her round, squat form did it any justice. Unfortunately, she didn’t have anything else to wear. As if Mettaton would let her wear anything else…

Oh. Mettaton. Alphys was actually kind of scared to see what he had planned. She didn’t look good in makeup, and he knew she thought that. With a deep sigh, Alphys stepped out of the bathroom.

She could see it from the hallway. Mettaton had turned the living room into a small beauty parlor, using only a fold-up party table, and the dresser drawer she kept their television on. How he did that in the fifteen minutes Alphys took to shower, she’d never know. When Mettaton went, he went big.

A large assortment of makeup kits and nail polish of all sorts of colors were stacked on the fold up table and all over the dresser drawer. The TV had been moved, but to where Alphys didn’t know. It had better be back by the time the date was done, Alphys knew that for sure.

Mettaton was standing by the fold-up table, one hand gesturing toward the large, leather computer chair Undyne used when she was playing video games online with Papyrus. He patted the seat of the chair. “Have a seat, sweetie, and we’ll get started.” Alphys sighed through her nose, and reluctantly sat down.

He got to work as soon as Alphys sat down. For a few seconds, Mettaton studied her face, then moved behind her and began doing something to her hair. There was a a lot of pulling, tugging, and blasts of uncomfortably hot air from a hair dryer. Alphys wished she could see what he was doing, but even this elaborate setup didn’t come with a vanity mirror.

After an inappropriate amount of time passed, perhaps forty-five minutes, Mettaton gave a satisfied shout, “There! It’s perfect.”

_Thank goodness,_ Alphys sighed, “C-can I get up now…?”

“What? Oh, no no no no! That was only your hair. You’re going on a date with someone very special, Alphys!! Makeup is a commodity, a tradition. We mustn’t forget tradition!!”

Alphys sighed again, unable to restrain a frown from crawling onto her face. “Fine…”

Finally, what had to be an hour later, Mettaton was finally done. He clapped his hands together proudly, “Yes. Ooooh, yes. Oooooooh, _yes!!_ Forget dating a queen, Alphys honey, you _are_ the queen!!” He reached over and grabbed a hand mirror that’d been resting on the table and finally showed Alphys what he’d done.

Honestly, besides the eyeliner and some eyeshadow, Alphys couldn’t tell the difference. She didn’t know why he even bothered with the eye makeup, because Alphys was still wearing her big, dorky glasses. Her nose was way too big as well, and suddenly she was aware of just how much her two front teeth poked out from between her lips. Mettaton was amazing, sure, but even he couldn’t work miracles.

For longer than she perceived, Alphys stared at herself in the mirror, picking out every single flaw in her appearance. What Undyne possibly saw in her to say yes to the date, Alphys would never know. Surely, Undyne deserved better than Alphys. She wondered if it was too late to back out of the date.

“It’s time to try on some shoes!!”

Alphys glanced up, confused, “I-I only have sneakers…”

“Don’t you know who you’re talking to?” Evidently not. From behind the fold out table, Mettaton pulled out a box—which _wasn’t_ there before, Alphys was sure—and dumped its contents onto the table. Shoes, lots and lots of shoes. Wedges, stilettos, flats, some boots, all sorts of things. They all came tumbling out, spilling over the side of the table and taking several makeup kits and vials of nail polish with it. “I have plenty you can use!! Sharing is caring, after all, sweetheart.”

Alphys was so astonished at how many shoes were just presented before her. It didn’t register for the first thirty minutes and she and Mettaton wore absurdly different shoe sizes. It took even long, for some reason, for her to realize it meant he must have gone out of his way to buy every single pair of shoes just for her. A pang of guilt washed over her as she thought about how much he must have spent on her. Including the dress. It got worse with every shoe he helped her try on.

Finally, after what seemed like way too long, Mettaton took a step back. He glanced over Alphys a few times, then clapped again, this time in finality—Alphys sincerely hoped it was finality. “And there we have it! We’re all finished. Ooooh, Alphys you look so darling!!”

Ultimately they decided on flats, solid black and egregiously plain—just like everything else about Alphys, but Mettaton was insistent the shoes tied everything together nicely. Alphys was about to ask why he’d even go through so much effort just for her when there was a loud knock on the door. It was heavy, but somehow hesitant.

“Oh!!” Mettaton gasped in delight, “Oh, oh! She’s here! Wait here, darling, I’ll take care of everything!!” He bounced over to the front door.

A spike of panic struck Alphys like a knife to the chest and she spun the chair around so she was facing away from the door and toward the wall. _Oh god, oh god, oh god, I can’t do this. This is a bad idea. She’s too amazing. She’s too nice. She’s too awesome, oh god, I don’t deserve to go out on a date with her. Oh god I don’t deserve this, I can’t even take care of myself, she had to move in and pay for everything, shit, shit shit—_

“Alphys.”

Abruptly, Undyne was standing in front of Alphys. A tight knot formed in Alphys’s throat. Undyne looked _amazing_. She wore a dark brown leather jacket, worn a bit at the elbows, with a pale pink scarf over a white t-shirt. Her jeans were a deep blue, and her usual, slightly weathered combat boots looked amazing with the whole outfit. Undyne even put on a fancy white eyepatch over her bad eye, and it looked like she’d put eyeliner on for the other one. Alphys felt herself shaking. Undyne got this dressed up for _her_?

Alphys caught herself looking Undyne up and down several times, and only stopped when she heard Undyne make a sound that was something between a laugh and a dreamy sigh, “Wow. I can’t even—you—uh, _woah_...” Undyne’s throat flexed noticeably, “You look amazing, Alphy.”

“O-oh, uh, th-thanks.” Alphys glanced down sheepishly, “I d-don’t think, uh—w-well, Mettaton helped…”

“Hush, I didn’t do _that_ much,” Mettaton chuckled, “It’s simply customary to get gussied up for a date. I wanted to make sure Alphys did it right.” There was an annoying amount of pride in his voice, and he was gesturing to Alphys like she was a work of art. Alphys huffed a little. She didn’t like being made to look like a spectacle, but the way Undyne was looking at her made everything else fade away. The wide smile and the soft look in her eye, it was absolutely dazzling. What did Alphys do to deserve the honor of going on a date with her?

“So,” Undyne cleared her throat, and held her hand out to Alphys. “D’you wanna get outta here?”

_Oh, God, please let this be real,_ Alphys swallowed the lump in her throat, _A date with Undyne—I don’t deserve—she’s so awesome—oooooh, please don’t let this be a dream!_ Alphys smiled back and took Undyne’s hand. It was rough and calloused, but felt so warm and gentle as Undyne’s dark fingers wrapped around Alphys’s pale ones.

Finally, Alphys was able to stand up. She suddenly felt so light, and she couldn’t take her eyes away from Undyne’s. They left the apartment together, only vaguely aware of Mettaton’s overdramatic weeps of pride and joy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading my fic. It seems to be getting interesting...
> 
> Don't forget to leave a comment and tell me what you think! Critiques are always welcome :3


	3. In the Moment

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Back in the trash we go~

The car ride started out pleasant. For the first five minutes, while they tried to decide where they wanted to go, Undyne was telling Alphys about how she had to deal with a guy at her work who was so drunk he was dancing on top of the bar in his underpants. Alphys couldn’t stop giggling, especially when Undyne described what she had to do to get him out.

“No one else wanted to touch that guy! So I had to climb up on the bar with him and drag his nasty ass off and out the door. I could not for the life of me find his pants. I think he tried to flush ‘em down the toilet, ‘cause the whole bathroom was flooded after that. The barkeep was _so_ pissed.”

Alphys had to keep herself from laughing. She could feel tears welling in her eyes and she tried to hold them back. Mettaton would not be happy if she ruined his makeup job, especially so early in the date.

Then it got quiet. Undyne’s story was apparently over, and except for a few leftover chuckles as the good vibes continued resonating throughout the car, it was quiet. Then, all laughter died away, leaving nothing but the droning, muffled noise of tires against pavement.

It didn’t take long for Alphys to realize she probably should be saying something. Unfortunately, she couldn’t find anything interesting to say. What _could_ she say? Alphys was boring. All she did was go to class, come home and watch anime. That wasn’t interesting. Oh, _god,_ Alphys wanted this to work out so bad, but she couldn’t make her mouth work, how could she be messing it up this so _early!?_

“Oh, hey!!” Undyne slammed on the breaks as they came up on a red light. Alphys lurched forward, and her glasses nearly fell of her face. “I just remembered. A Thai place just opened up across the street from the bar. Papyrus says the food’s really good. You wanna go?”

Without even thinking about it, Alphys agreed, “O-of course! I think—uh, that sounds awesome!”

Undyne pumped a fist in triumph, “Awesome!! Let’s gun it, then,” When the light turned green, Undyne slammed the gas. Alphys was forced back against the seat, and she clutched the armrest as they sped down the darkening road. Surely, this wasn’t safe, but Alphys had always enjoyed Undyne’s enthusiasm.

—

The Thai place was smaller than Alphys had thought it’d be. It was on the boardwalk, and it was nestled between an ice cream parlor, and a family owned Italian food-place that was larger than the newer Thai restaurant. Honestly, Alphys had pictured something a bit more extravagant, but she was happy they weren’t going to a big place. At least here, there would be less people.

The inside was definitely bigger than the outside, and it certainly had that beautiful Thai restaurant flair. On one side, up against the wall, were booth seats, starting from the entrance way back to the back wall. In the middle, two rows of tables so close together it’d be uncomfortable if not for the half-wall sitting between them. Paper lanterns of all sorts of colors, decorated with beautiful symbols as well, were hung from the ceiling. Although it wasn’t that big, each row of seats had about seven to eight tables each, it still looked so— _expensive._

If Undyne wanted to eat here, though, Alphys wouldn’t protest.

A nicely dressed woman came up and showed them their seats. It was a Saturday, and the place was new, so there were quite a few people there already. Luckily, there were a few tables open still.

They sat in silence, staring at the menu and Alphys without actually reading the menu items. There was a balloon in her chest, and it had been swelling dramatically since before they pulled up to the restaurant. It was making her feel sick. She hoped she wouldn’t get sick on her first date with Undyne. Undyne definitely wouldn’t enjoy that. Speaking of that, was Undyne enjoying herself? Alphys realized she hadn’t said anything since they sat down. _Shit¸_ was she being too boring? She should really be saying something, but what?

“Are you ready to order?”

Alphys jumped and looked up at the waitress, who looked already beyond annoyed. With a stab of panic Alphys realized she didn’t even know what was on the menu, let alone what she wanted. _Oh, god, what do I say? She looks mad. I can’t tell her I’m not ready, Undyne must be starving by now, oh no, oh no._

“Uh, I think I need more time to decide. What about you, Alphys?” Startled, Alphys looked up at Undyne, who was leant back against the chair with her arm cast back over the the back of the chair beside her and looking down at the menu.

“Uuuh, I-I need some more time too…”

The waitress huffed and left. This time, Alphys actually looked at her menu and just decided on whatever sounded good. She chose the closest thing to ramen she could find and laid her menu down. She let out a heavy breath. This would all be worth it if it meant she could…

“You know what,” Undyne said, slapping her menu down on the table. Alphys flinched. “ _You_ never told me how your classes went this week.”

“I didn’t? Oh, w-well, we’ve both been p-pretty busy this week, huh…” Alphys chuckled. Her fingers tapped against the menu nervously. “W-well, n-nothing new. Steve messed up the coding again, and, uh, that’s nothing special.”

Undyne guffawed, “Again with that guy? What did he do this time?”

“Oh, just the same thing he always did before,” Alphys rolled her eyes and sighed, “He doesn’t ever comment on his codes. So no one c-can read what his lines of codes are supposed to do. It’s like he thinks we can read his mind, or p-programmers are just supposed to know what certain lines of code are for. Th-they can figure it out, sure, b-but who has the time? A-and his stuff always gets passed down to me, like _I’m_ supposed to immediately know what to do with it.”

“Well, you _are_ the smartest student in that class!” Undyne quickly interjected.

Alphys hesitated a bit. Undyne’s compliments always got her tongue-tied, even if Undyne was just being nice. “W-well, y-y-yeah, b-but I can’t read uncommented code! If you don’t _say_ what it does, then no one can know what to do with it. I mean, I _can_ but it takes forever to do it. He _knows_ I have other classes, too! I-I don’t know how he’s still in that class, h-he hasn’t learned to _stop_ that since our first big project. Obviously, he’s got the comments for the codes somewhere, because whenever I ask him about it days later he kn-knows exactly what the codes do! And then I have to s-sit on the phone for an hour while he…” Alphys felt her heart sink in her chest, “Oh. Oh my god, I-I’m rambling again. I’m sorry Undyne.”

Undyne had been coolly tapping her fingers on the table, her lips turned slightly upward. Alphys noticed how Undyne always did that. Always gave her all of her undivided attention, no matter what Alphys was talking about. It made Alphys shiver. “Oh, come on, Alphys. I love it when you talk! You always say such awesome things, and you’re so smart about it! Like how you keep talking about Mew Mew Kissy Cutie 2.”

“It’s an abysmal smear on the name of the Mew Mew franchise and you know it!”

The waitress came back, and they placed their order. After that, it became silent again. Alphys didn’t trust herself to talk. She rambled way too much, and that couldn’t have been fun to listen to. While they waited for the food, Alphys could feel Undyne’s stare. _Why isn’t she saying something? Does she want me to say something? Oh god, I can’t, I just can’t…_

Then, she heard Undyne pipe up, “So! Alphys, I was just thinking…” then she trailed off, and Alphys heard her sigh dejectedly. “Alphys, is this too weird for you? Do you not want to be here?”

Alphys looked up from her hands and saw Undyne was frowning. She was confused at first. Of course she wanted to be here. On a date, with the one and only Undyne? It was all Alphys could ever dream of. _But why is she frowning? Did I do something wrong…?_

Then, it dawned on her, and Alphys’s heart dropped into her stomach. Undyne didn’t want to be here. _She_ thought it was too weird. _Oh no, oh no._ Alphys felt the balloon in her chest reinflating, and she felt a hot, wet heat behind her eyes. _No, no, no, don’t cry! Don’t make this any weirder for Undyne! Oh god, how did I mess it up? This can’t be happening!!_

“Alphys?”

By then, Alphys realized she had to answer. Unfortunately, she still didn’t trust her voice, but she knew she had to. “Is—is it too weird for _you?_ ”

“No, well, yeah.” Undyne tapped a fork against the table’s surface, not making eye-contact. “But it’s only weird because we’ve been friends for so long, y’know? But I’ve wanted to ask you out with you for a long time. Like, okay, a _crazy_ long time. And I was so excited to be on this date with you. When I first saw you in that dress, all I could think of was how unbelievable it was that I could finally go out with you. But you’ve seemed really uncomfortable, and the last thing I ever wanted was to push you to do anything you didn’t want to do.”

Alphys felt herself begin to calm down the more Undyne spoke. “O-oh…” She made a mental note to stop overthinking things so much.

“So, if you don’t want to be here, I can drive you home. And we can forget this ever happened. I’ll be fine with that.” Undyne was slouched against her seat, her arms crossed vulnerably over her stomach.

 _Oh…_ “U-Undyne,” Alphys chuckled weakly. “Why would I want to be anywhere else? You’re right here.” The words came out automatically, but Alphys never felt so confident about what she was saying. Undyne finally looked up, and their gazes met. The smile that lit up Undyne’s face filled Alphys with a gentle, pleasant warmth.

Undyne scoffed and shook her head. “God, you’re such a dork.” Her hand slid across the table, and her fingertips sheepishly touched the back of Alphys’s hand, “I feel the same. Being here with you.”

Butterflies practically exploded in Alphys’s belly. Okay. Maybe this date wasn’t going as bad as she thought it was, if Undyne was smiling like that.

Their food came, and they ate together peacefully. Of course, since Undyne moved in, Alphys’s definition of “peaceful” had changed considerably, but this was different. It was quiet again, but now it was a bit more comfortable. Alphys felt Undyne’s fingers gently tapping and rubbing against the top of her hand, and occasionally Undyne’s thumb would ghost across her knuckles.

Finally, they managed to finish their dinner. The broth of Alphys’s noodles was about cold then, but she didn’t mind. They paid their bill, deciding to just split it after both insisting back and forth that they could pay for the other. Then, they made their way to Undyne’s car. In a brief moment of boldness, Alphys shakily linked her arm with Undyne’s. She felt Undyne tense, and worried she might have taken a step too far, too fast. Then, Undyne’s arm shifted and hooked comfortably into Alphys’s elbow. Alphys couldn’t contain her smile.

“Hey,” Undyne began as she fumbled for her keys, “It’s still pretty early. Can I take you somewhere?”

“Oh, s-sure! Where did you have in mind?”

“Just outside of town.” Undyne opened up the passenger side door and gestured for Alphys to go in. “I’ll show you.”

—

They drove in silence for about a half hour. Alphys felt a little anxious about how quiet it was, wondering if she should say something, but it wasn’t so bad this time. She would turn and see Undyne smiling, and her anxieties would wash away. Undyne’s smile was always bright enough to see, even as they left the constant light of the city.

At one point, Alphys noticed that Undyne had only one hand on the wheel. The other was resting between them, by the hand break. Before she could think about what she was doing, she reached over and silently and took Undyne’s hand into her own. She waited with baited breath when she heard Undyne’s breath catch, then felt her heart melt when Undyne’s hand wrapped tight around hers.

They pulled onto a dirt road and into a heavily wooded area, where Undyne drove until they reached a clearing. It took about five minutes, and all Alphys could focus on was how warm and gentle Undyne’s hands felt. Each time Undyne’s fingers wriggled, Alphys gave her hand a squeeze. Undyne would squeeze her hand back.

She was almost disappointed when Undyne finally parked the car on top of a grassy hill, just at the end of the dirt path. Undyne slid out of the car and hurried over to the other side to open Alphys’s door as well. “Gee, Undyne,” Alphys giggled shyly, taking Undyne’s waiting hand, “Y-you’re so chivalrous tonight…”

Undyne only gave a sheepish chuckle in reply.

They sat on the hood of Undyne’s car. Alphys didn’t remember being this far out of town before. Not for a while, and especially not out this way. The hill they were on swooped down into a valley, wide and filled with tall, unkempt grass. At the very bottom, a lake. It wasn’t too big, but it looked rather deep. The whole area was surrounded by tall trees that, even beneath the glow of the full moon, looked dark and eerie. She could remember Undyne telling her all the time about an area with a small lake. This had to have been it.

It was so quiet. Usually, Alphys got nervous in such secluded places, sometimes even more than in crowds. Especially dark forest areas, where it was rare to run into anyone else. Not even a passing car. However, sitting here with Undyne, taking in the sounds of night and the smell of nature, Alphys didn’t feel so nervous about it.

“No city lights. No clouds tonight. Perfect night for stargazing.” Undyne leaned back against the hood, resting her weight on her hands. “Don’t you think, Alphys?”

Finally, Alphys looked up. It completely stole her breath away. She’d seen the night sky before, unpolluted by light, when she was a child, but she didn’t remember it being so—big. Far more than just a black sheet of space with a few dots of stars. Milky clouds, hundreds and hundreds of sparkles. It was almost like fireflies that were trapped inside glowing, misty clouds.

“Beautiful, right?” Undyne’s voice was quiet and calm, so unlike her but in a comfortable way. Alphys hummed affirmatively. She couldn’t take her eyes away. “I used to come here all the time when I was younger. If I ever had a bad day, I’d ride out here on my bike and swim for as long as I wanted to. Occasionally some other kids would come out and I’d play with them. It was a good way to unwind after a stressful day.”

Alphys finally managed to tear her eyes away from the stars and looked at Undyne, hanging on every word she was saying. She’d never heard Undyne say a word about this before. “O-oh…?”

“Yeah.” Undyne chuckled, “I’ve always wanted to share this place with you. But we were always so busy, and even when we weren’t, the time never felt right.” Undyne let out a long, deep sigh and gazed dreamily up at the sky.

Alphys watched her, amazed. She’d seen this side of Undyne before, but it always surprised her. Undyne was this tough, unstoppable force of brute strength, and her personality showed that almost constantly. It felt like seeing Halley’s Comet whenever Undyne ever broke away from that behavior and just relaxed for a little while.

A light wind blew through the hilltop, and it easily cut through Alphys’s pretty and thin dress. She couldn’t suppress the shiver, and much to her dismay, Undyne was right on that. “Are you cold, Alphys?” Undyne let out an annoyed grunt. “Mettaton didn’t give you a jacket, did he? That figures.”

Alphys tried to protest, but Undyne had already removed her jacket. As it was slung over her shoulders, Alphys didn’t miss how Undyne paused before removing her hands. She looked up at Undyne, feeling her cheeks heat up when her eyes locked with Undyne’s unwavering gaze. “W-what? What is it?”

Then, quicker than Alphys could blink, Undyne swooped down and planted a gentle kiss on her cheek. The very next second, Undyne was back upright, and staring down at the dark wooded area at the bottom of the hill.

Alphys was stunned, mostly because it happened, but also because of how quick it was. She could feel her heart beating so hard, it felt like it might leap out of her chest. Had that really just happened? Yes, it had to have. Undyne just kissed her. It was only on the cheek, but a kiss was a kiss, and it had come from Undyne!

Soon enough, Alphys had come back down to reality. The first thing she was aware of was the sound of rapid tapping, down by her side. Undyne was rapidly tapping her fingers against the hood of the car, nervously. Her jaw looked tight and her lips were pressed into a thin line. Every few seconds, Undyne’s unbelievably tight throat would flex.

“Undyne?”

“Yeah, what about it!?” Undyne quickly spat out, obviously expecting a more extreme and possibly accusatory response, “I’m sorry, okay? I didn’t—I couldn’t—I just wanted to—!!”

“C-can we, uh, tr-try that again?” She almost couldn’t believe she was saying it, but god, Alphys wanted to try that again. Only with more lip-locking this time. That wasn’t too much, was it?

In the glow of the moon, Alphys was able to clearly see the look on Undyne’s face. Surprise, relief, intense anxiety, all rolled up into one awkward expression. At this point, Alphys knew that odd mix of emotions all too well. “Are you sure?” Undyne’s voice was quiet, and just a bit raspy.

“Y-yeah! But…” Alphys swallowed a tight knot in her throat. It felt like she was nearly choking, but she continued, “A r-real kiss this time, maybe? L-like, a—a mouth kiss?” There had to be a better way to word that, but it seemed to do the trick. Undyne began to stammer.

“W-well, yeah! Of course! If—if you want to!? Hell yeah!” Then, after loudly clearing her throat, Undyne added, “Don’t hold anything back!”

Undyne shifted to fully face Alphys, her leg moving up onto the hood of the car. Alphys shivered, her heart basically a jackhammer in her chest. She shifted closer until her knee bumped into the foot Undyne had on the hood, and Alphys reached over and pressed her palm on Undyne’s shoulder. Her fingers curled into the neckerchief around Undyne’s neck. Undyne leaned in, her nose gently brushing against Alphys’s before gently pressing into her cheek, and Undyne’s lips finally pressed against hers.

Suddenly, everything felt lighter. Undyne’s kiss was so soft and gentle, seemingly so unlike her, and she still tasted a bit like the fried rice and chamomile tea she’d had at the restaurant. The kiss didn’t last nearly as long as Alphys had wanted it to; Undyne pulled back after just a few seconds of contact. Fortunately, she didn’t go far, so it only took Alphys a moment to grip the collar of her shirt and pull her back in. She sunk into Undyne’s hold, and tried to press herself as close as she could, to deepen their kiss however possible. A low, appreciative groan rumbled between them, but Alphys couldn’t tell who it came from.

For as long as Alphys could comprehend, they stayed like that. The feeling of Undyne’s lips moving slowly against hers stole Alphys’s breath away. Before she wanted, Undyne pulled away again, and Alphys realized how badly her lungs were starved for air. _Holy shit_ , she thought. _That was amazing._

Undyne’s breathing was labored, and she laughed softly, her hands running up Alphys’s back, “Wow. That was…” She sighed dreamily, “ _Woah._ ” Her hands slid down to rest on Alphys’s hips. “So much better than in my head.”

“You’re not kidding.” Alphys played idly with a lock of Undyne’s hair that had come loose from its ponytail. “Y-you really liked it?”

“Pfft! Are you kidding?” Undyne laughed loudly, and her fingers squeezed Alphys’s hip. “It was awesome! It’s something, uh, I’d like to do again some time. If that’s all right with you.”

“O-of course it’s all right!!” Alphys stammered, “I, um, k-kind of want to do it again too. L-like, right now, I mean…” Alphys could kick herself. She didn’t mean for that to sound so weird. At least she wasn’t rambling about how much like her anime this was. She just wanted to kiss Undyne again. Hopefully Undyne wanted to kiss her again, but if not some other time would suffice, and hey, maybe she should be saying this out loud, where did her voice go, she was talking just fine a few…

Before her mind could short circuit, Alphys felt Undyne kissing her again. An idle thought came to mind about how someone like Undyne could possibly be so gentle, then all coherent thought faded away. Alphys leaned into Undyne again, eager to match the soft but passionate exchange.

Warm, rough fingers slid around Alphys’s nape and pulled her closer. Alphys groaned, and slid her arms around Undyne’s shoulders. She shuddered a bit when she felt Undyne’s tongue rub lightly against her bottom lip, but before she could respond, it quickly retreated. Greedily, Alphys swiftly tried to return Undyne’s gesture. She felt Undyne tense, then practically melt. When Undyne’s mouth opened, Alphys pressed herself even closer.

They broke apart minutes later, equally flushed and completely breathless. Undyne touched their foreheads together, and Alphys could feel the hot breath on her face as Undyne laughed. She was laughing too, holding tightly onto Undyne’s arms. “Thank you, Undyne,” said Alphys, finally, after she managed to catch her breath.

Undyne chuckled, “Yeah? For what?” Undyne’s fingers were rubbing Alphys’s nape; it tickled, and Alphys couldn’t keep the giggles down.

“God, for everything. I can’t even begin to— _god_ , I’m so happy right now. Just—thank you!!”

They laughed together for a long time. Foreheads touching, arms wrapped securely around each other, and basking in each other’s company. Words couldn’t describe how Alphys felt right now, but when she looked at Undyne, those words didn’t matter.




The car ride home was silent, but comfortable. Alphys felt warm, fuzzy, and incredibly giddy, and she gazed out of the window and watched as thick woods slowly transitioned into the small city. Her chin in her hand, and her other hand holding onto Undyne’s, Alphys couldn’t stop smiling. Some kind of rock music was playing on low volume throughout the car, accentuating the good vibes fluctuating between them.

Alphys glanced over at Undyne. Lit up by the streetlights, Alphys could plainly see the huge smile on Undyne’s face. It filled Alphys up with a calm, but giddy warmth. She wiggled her fingers against Undyne’s, and to her delight, Undyne gave her hand a tight squeeze.

When they arrived back at the apartment building, they sat in silence. Hands linked firmly together, fingers interwoven and unwilling to let go. Undyne gave Alphys’s hand a small squeeze, then slid away and left the car. Before Alphys could open her own door, Undyne was already there and had opened it for her. Alphys giggled and took Undyne’s hand again.

They linked arms and walked slowly up the steps to their apartment.

Undyne let Alphys use the restroom first because, in her own words, chivalry was Undyne’s middle name. Alphys quickly dressed back down into her night clothes, brushed her teeth, and let her hair down. Not once could she stop thinking about Undyne. She was so happy, she felt she could faint.

She left the bathroom, seeing Undyne leaning against the wall, leather jacket tucked beneath her arm. Undyne smiled sheepishly at her, and Alphys felt her heart swell. As Undyne took her turn in the bathroom, Alphys ducked into her bedroom. Silently, she sat on her bed, replaying everything that happened that night. The restaurant, the stars, the kiss. Alphys felt her cheeks heat up. She couldn’t believe that all actually happened.

There was a knock at her bedroom door. Alphys stood and quickly ran to open it. Undyne stood, in her tank top and boxers, one hand raised to keep knocking. She smiled sheepishly down at Alphys, and lowered her hand just a bit, “I just wanted to say goodnight, and, uh…” Undyne loudly cleared her throat. “Well, maybe, if you wanted to, I could…” Undyne swallowed, “K-kiss you goodnight? Only if you want to!”

Alphys could die. Another kiss? Three kisses with Undyne in one night? “Oh. W-well, sure! I-I-I’d love to, if you wanted to.” Alphys felt her ears grew hot, and she hoped her face wasn’t too red.

“Yeah,” Undyne’s nervous smile grew wide, “As long as you wanted to.”

A giggle bubbled up in Alphys’s throat. They could probably go back and forth like this the whole night, couldn’t they? “Of course I want to, Undyne.”

Just when Alphys thought her cheeks couldn’t get hotter, she felt Undyne’s fingers slide against her cheek. Undyne leaned down and pressed her soft dark lips against Alphys’s pale ones once more, and it was just as magical as the first. Alphys grabbed the front of Undyne’s tank top and pulled their bodies flush together. Undyne groaned softly, clearly not expecting a kiss like this, but her hands slide up and threaded into Alphys’s hair.

Alphys wasn’t sure if she’d ever get used to this. To how firm but soft Undyne felt, or to how she smelled of mint leaves and pine. The way she tasted had to be Alphys’s favorite. She could stay like this forever.

Unfortunately, the need for oxygen was still a thing, so they had to separate after what seemed like forever, but still too soon. Alphys realized that somehow one of her hands hand moved up and tangled itself in Undyne’s hair. She chuckled, a tad embarrassed, but didn’t remove her hand. Undyne’s hair, so brilliantly red, felt so soft and smooth between her fingers.

“I had a really good time tonight.” Undyne whispered, her breath ghosting against Alphys’s lips. It sent a shiver down Alphys’s spine.

“Me too.” Alphys agreed. She finally let her hand slide out of Undyne’s soft locks and onto her shoulder. “I’d really like to do it again. With you.”

“Yeah, that sounds great. With you.” A few beats passed between them, and it felt so warm. Alphys’s gaze locked so intently with Undyne’s, smiling like there wasn’t anything wrong with the world. This was too perfect to be true, and yet here she was, and she didn’t want to let go. Undyne cleared her throat. “Well. It’s late. We should probably get some sleep.” Slowly, almost hesitantly, Undyne’s arms slid away from Alphys’s hips. She missed Undyne’s warmth already. “Goodnight, Alphy.”

“Goodnight, Undyne.” They watched each other as Alphys closed the door until it clicked shut. Alphys waited a few seconds to let it all sink in. She’d just had a date. A very successful one. With _Undyne_. Alphys couldn’t contain the squeal that bubbled up from deep in her chest, and she masked it with her hand. At the same time, a loud, triumphant shout from the other side of the door startled her. Alphys heard Undyne trying to stifle all sorts of happy, excited noises as she moved down the hall and flopped loudly onto her creaky futon.

Alphys giggled and walked, practically gliding, over to her bed. Sleep definitely wasn’t going to come easy tonight. How could it? All Alphys could think about was Undyne, and all she wanted to do was go out kiss Undyne some more. Alphys curled up beneath her blankets and tried to contain her joyful, delighted shrieks.

She didn’t need sleep tonight, anyway.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading~ I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Just one more, but after all that, what in the world could it be???
> 
> I'm always open to comments and constructive criticism!


	4. Here We Are

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hold onto her, and don't let go.

When Alphys woke up, it was still dark, and she’d forgotten where she was.

Anxiety swelled in her chest like a thorny water balloon, and an icy heat had washed over her skin. Images of bright, colorful shadows still danced in her vision, but she could only remember them as if seeing them through a kaleidoscope. The thought of these images made the balloon swell larger, and Alphys felt like she was suffocating.

Where was she? Did she live here? She couldn’t see a thing in this darkness. Alphys scrambled onto her knees and reached for her lamp. The room lit up, and she realized that the walls were white, and a bit of her anxiety was eased. Alphys took her glasses from the nightstand, checked each lens, and slipped them onto her face. She took a deep breath, and tried to convince herself of where she was.

It felt too hot beneath her blankets, but she was shaking like a leaf. Alphys rubbed her hands down her face, groaning tiredly. Eventually, reality began to settle back into place as it usually did. Alphys was fine. She was in her apartment, safe, with Undyne sleeping just down the hallway.

 _Undyne. Oh god, the date!_ Alphys curled in on herself and sighed sadly. _Oh my god, you can’t be normal for longer than one night, can you? Even after all Undyne did for you. God…_ Alphys sniffled and wiped her face. Without thinking, she glanced down at her hand and saw large, dark smudges on them. Great. She’d forgotten about the makeup.

As quietly as she could, Alphys left her bedroom and slipped into the bathroom. For a long time, Alphys ran the hot water and scrubbed her face with a wet towel. It seemed, though, no matter how hard she scrubbed, the makeup only smeared and stained her face.

This was just so typical of her. Alphys couldn’t just be happy for one night. Only a few hours ago, she’d gotten home from the best date she’d had in years. The _only_ date she’d had in years. With _Undyne_ , no less, the woman Alphys had been been pining over for years now. She should be happy, not this blubbering, gross mess that couldn’t even _wash this damn makeup off—!!_

Four rapid taps at the door stopped her. Alphys paused, anxiety like a sharp knife digging deep into her sternum. She noticed, then, the waterfall of hot tears cascading silently down her cheeks.

“Alphys?” A few more raps at the door. Alphys felt her breath catch painfully in her throat. “Are you okay?”

“I-I’m fine, U-U-Undyne.” She didn’t trust herself to speak, and she definitely did not sound fine, but she had to say something. Undyne would break the door down otherwise. In vain, Alphys tried to control her rapid, shaky breathing, but it was only getting harder and harder. “I’m just—just, I-I-I’m…”

“Was it another nightmare?” Undyne’s question was followed by a long stretch of silence. The figurative knife in Alphys’s ribcage was twisting painfully, and Alphys felt like she was literally choking. Just thinking about the nightmare made the lump in her throat swell until she was unable to speak, even if she tried. She felt so ashamed. Not only was she freaking out so soon after a terrific date, but she’d woken her terrific date up with her silly nightmare and gross sobbing. “Alphys,” Undyne started again, after a beat of silence, “Will you let me in? Please?”

 _Dammit…_ Alphys sobbed. She didn’t deserve someone as amazing and understanding as Undyne. She waited a few long moments before opening the door, not daring to look Undyne in the face. Instead, she stared at the bottom of Undyne’s tank top and her ocean themed boxers. The memory of giving them to a marine-enthused Undyne would have made Alphys smile, but she felt too ashamed now. She couldn’t even take comfort in how cute they were. “I’m s-so-sorry, Undyne.”

“Why? For what?” Undyne’s voice was firm, but gentle. Alphys swallowed tightly. “Alphys?”

“I—I can’t just—” Hot tears filled her eyes, and began to spill over before she could stop them, “You’ve been s-s-so n-n-nice to me, a-a-and I can’t even—I can’t e-even—please don’t think I d-don’t want to d-date you, I r-really do, I-I-I—”

“Alphys, slow down! _Breathe!!”_ Undyne’s hand came up, then dropped back down at her sides. Alphys watched as Undyne’s fingers curled and relaxed several times as Alphys tried to catch her breath. She hadn’t even realized she’d started to hyperventilate. “Alphys, look at me. Please.” Hesitantly, Alphys did. Undyne looked as if she were close to tears herself, and it only made Alphys feel worse. She just had had to ruin _everything_ , didn’t she? “Alphys, it was just a nightmare. You don’t have anything to worry about.”

Alphys hiccupped, and looked away again. With a shuddering sigh, she moved forward and pressed her face into Undyne’s shoulders. Almost immediately, Undyne’s arms came up and wrapped around her and squeezed her tight. Alphys began to sob uncontrollably, only vaguely soothed by Undyne gently rubbing her back.

Slowly, they sank down onto their knees. For quite some time, Alphys sobbed into Undyne’s shirt, shaking and shuddering. Undyne held her, completely silent, one hand on Alphys’s back, the other gently rubbing Alphys’s scalp. Eventually, with a few breaths as deep as she could manage, Alphys said, “I’m s-s-so s-sorry,”

There was a moment of silence, then Undyne spoke, “What are you so sorry, for? You didn’t do anything wrong.”

A sob racked Alphys’s ribs, “Y-you’re so nice, and I-I had s-s-s-such a good time, b-but…” Alphys covered her mouth. She must sound so gross and pitiful right now. “God, I-I c-c-can’t even b-be normal enough to enjoy one night w-with you! Oh, m-my god, I even ruined your tank top.”

“Oh, Alphys,” She felt Undyne’s hand ball up tight against her back. “I don’t want you to feel bad about that stuff. I don’t want you to have to feel bad about anything.” Undyne’s head shifted and Alphys felt her nose press into her hair. “I know that all this must feel really shitty. But, jeez, Alph, you can’t control when this happens! It just— _does!_ There’s no problem with that.” Undyne paused and thought for a second, “Actually, I don’t know if it’s true, not being a problem. But I don’t care that this happens, I just want you to be okay. I want you to be able to feel safe.”

Alphys leaned back to look Undyne in the face again, “Y-you—you don’t have to…”

“Don’t be a dork, Alphy. I want to.” Undyne’s hand rubbed circles on Alphys’s back, and Undyne smiled warmly, “We’ve been friends for four years now, and we’ve been roommates for two! You know I don’t mind.”

“B-but I-I-I’m always d-doing this, a-and you’re so…”

“Yeah, yeah, I know.” Undyne’s fingers combed through Alphys’s hair. “You know, you’re so amazing, Alphy.” Undyne’s hand came up and cupped Alphys’s cheek. Her hand felt a little cold, but comforting against Alphys’s heated and undoubtedly gross cheek. “You’re in the throes of a panic attack, and all you can think about is how _I_ feel. You’re really something special.” Alphys couldn’t help but smile. No matter how many times this happened, no matter how bad her freak outs got, Undyne would never fail to make her smile. Always. “So, I think it’s pretty clear neither of us are getting any sleep any time soon. Whaddoya say we pop in an anime and veg out all day?”

“O-oh, Undyne, I d-don’t want to keep you up…”

“Alphys, hush. How long have we been roommates? You _know_ I’m up at five. I’m _always_ up at five.” Undyne’s thumb rubbed against Alphys’s tear and makeup stained cheek. “But let’s get this gunk off of your face first. You clearly don’t like it.”

—

For maybe ten minutes, it was quiet as Alphys sat on the toilet with Undyne dabbing her face with a hot hand towel. Once again, Alphys was both stunned and put at great ease with how soft Undyne was with her. It wasn’t the first time Undyne had helped her with the aftershocks of a nightmare, but Alphys already felt so much better.

When Undyne finally decided she got as much makeup off as she could, she stood up straight and tossed the blackened, damp cloth aside. “All right, I think we’re good. You take however long you need. I’m gonna go set up the anime.” Undyne then spun, and strode out of the bathroom.

Alphys sat there for a few minutes. With Undyne gone, she felt her nerves and anxiety begin to come back, like a nasty weed. She took a few deep breathes to compose herself. It wasn’t that bad; she could move past this. She could do it—for Undyne.

Finally, after what was probably way too long, Alphys stood. Her legs felt a bit like jelly know, and there was still a noticeable if dull ache in her chest. At least she wasn’t crying anymore.

She walked slowly into the living room. The light was on, and Undyne had pulled the futon into couch position and was sitting, legs crossed, trying to find an anime on Alphys’s queue-list. When she saw Alphys, she smiled and patted the space beside her. Alphys hesitated only slightly, then sat down. What did she ever do to deserve someone like Undyne? She kept her distance as Undyne eventually settled on Yu Yu Hakusho.

Throughout the first two episodes, Alphys sat up straight, eyes focused on the TV screen. She was so tired, but anxiety was gripping her chest like an icy fist. How could Undyne put up with her? This happened every other week and Undyne was always so quick to try and help her. Alphys couldn’t understand it, especially after she just ruined the afterglow of such an amazing night.

When the third episode started, Alphys felt a hand gently touch her shoulder. She tensed and looked over. A look of deep concern showed on Undyne’s face, and once their gazes met, Alphys couldn’t look away. Undyne offered a wide, comforting smile, and slid her arm around Alphys’s shoulder and pulled her close. Alphys went willingly with Undyne’s motions until she was leaning fully against Undyne’s chest.

“Comfy?” Undyne asked, her voice low and quiet. Alphys nodded silently, wondering idly if this was too much contact after just their first date. She decided she didn’t care; this all felt so natural, and Undyne felt so warm. “Good.” Alphys turned her face into Undyne’s shirt and sighed softly as Undyne pulled her comforter over them both.

Alphys watched the television, but paid no attention to the show. Undyne’s heartbeat sang in her ear, beating out a rhythm that soothed the ache in Alphys’s chest. That, coupled with the feeling of Undyne’s fingertips against her scalp, and the low, idle humming buzzing in Undyne’s throat, made Alphys nearly completely forget her nightmare. Soon, it was just an afterthought in the back of her head.

Around what was maybe the sixth or seventh episode, light began to shine through the window, but Alphys’s eyes were too heavy to keep open. She could just barely feel Undyne’s fingers idly playing with her hair as she fell asleep, feeling warm and so very safe.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ah, yes, the end. I hope you enjoyed this. Comments are very much appreciated, as well as any critiques that you may think of.
> 
> Thank you for going on this short ride with me. Hopefully, I have more of this human au to give you! Or just alphyne in general. Have a good day <3


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